Quick and Easy “Light” Lemon Curd

We LOVE lemon curd!  It’s so tangy, bright, and sweet-tart!  I love stirring it into plain Greek yogurt, whether store-bought or homemade. It would also be amazing slathered on some shortbread cookies or warm scones.  Years ago,  I stumbled on a non-traditional (but still delicious) recipe, and I’ve used it exclusively ever since.  As an added bonus,  because there’s no butter, it’s actually a little quicker/easier to make AND it’s lower in fat and calories.  Score!  I’ve made this on countless occasions, sometimes with Meyer lemons, regular lemons, key limes, or regular limes.  You can pretty much use any type of citrus, so take your pick!

Read on to get the full instructions.

-Viv

Quick Dinner: Sesame Peanut Noodles

We LOVE sesame peanut noodles!  I’ve been adhering to a weekly menu plan lately, in an attempt to save money and waste less food, and I’m happy to say my evil plan is working, mwa ha ha!  However, whether you make a weekly plan or not, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut, especially when you try to make dinner at home regularly.  These sesame peanut noodles made their way into the rotation recently, and not only did they get Mr. Viv and me out of a boring, repetitive dinner pattern, they were surprisingly easy and inexpensive.  Awesome!  Keep reading for the details.

-Viv

Savory Roasted Chickpeas

 

We LOVE healthy snacks!  Actually, we love all snacks, but it’s a bonus if they’re both delicious AND healthy.  Today I’m going to share a ridiculously easy “recipe” for savory roasted chickpeas, which are full of fiber and protein.  It’s actually more of a method than a recipe, and you can customize it in infinite ways.  This version will make a salty, crunchy snack that might help you skip the greasy chips, but you can also make a cinnamon sugar variation to help you indulge your sweet tooth without forfeiting a healthy lifestyle.  Read on for the details.

-Viv

DIY Brown Sugar Lip Scrub

We LOVE all-natural DIY beauty products!  Today I’m going to show you how to make a lip scrub at home.  I gave these away for Christmas as part of a lip duo along with the handmade lip balm we shared here back in December.

Read on to find out how to make this moisturizing (and yummy) lip exfoliant yourself in only 3 steps!  (Bonus:  you only need 2 ingredients!)

-Viv

Homemade Granola

We LOVE granola!  And good news: making it yourself is really easy and inexpensive!  Plus, you can make it healthier than the store-bought kind, and you can customize it to suit your tastes and food allergies/sensitivities.

Be warned, though.  I have found this granola to be addictive, and I’ve been known to eat much more than a “sensible” portion in one sitting.  If you’re still on board (and you should be), keep reading for the instructions.

-Viv

Super Simple Smoothie (You Can Customize)!

We LOVE smoothies!  I could replace a meal with a smoothie every day for the rest of my life.  I won’t, but I could.

Today’s post is a quick and easy one.  I’ll share my smoothie “recipe,” which is really all about proportions, and give you ideas for how to customize it to your preference.  What I LOVE about this is how much less expensive it is to make smoothies at home, and how much more (potentially) nutritious your blended fruit and juice drink can be when you control what goes in it!

Click through for the details.

-Viv

No-Churn Ice Cream

We LOVE ice cream!  But you already know that.  Of course, I have an ice cream maker and have made plenty of nostalgically old-fashioned custard-based frozen treats in it, but sometimes I want to (literally) whip up a quick batch of homemade ice cream without going to too much trouble.  Today, I’ll show you how to make an eggless version that’s much faster/easier and possibly equally as good, all without an ice cream maker!  What’s amazing about this method, aside from the convenience, is that it’s just as readily customizable as traditional ice cream recipes.  Keep reading for a no-churn Rocky Road ice cream recipe, along with some bonus ideas for other flavor combinations.

-Viv

Chia Seed Jam

We LOVE jam!  One might even say that jam is our JAM!  This version uses chia seeds as a thickener to give it that jammy jam jam quality.  If you haven’t heard of chia seeds, where have you been?  Just kidding.  But seriously, they’re a lot of fun to use, and word on the street is they have some significant health benefits.  I used strawberries for my chia seed jam, but you can use the fruit of your choice, and it’s so easy to make.  Really, you won’t believe how simple this is!  You can spread it on toast, stir some into your favorite plain yogurt, make a PBJ sandwich, or use it how you would use any other jam.  Keep reading for the details.

-Viv

Homemade Pizza Dough

We LOVE pizza!  Homemade pizza dough is another thing I’ve been meaning to make for years now.  I think a lot of people feel that bread/yeast dough recipes can be intimidating, so I thought I’d share this post with you all to demystify the process.  It’s actually something anyone can do, and it’s really cost effective, so keep reading to check it out.

-Viv

Smokey Sweet Dry Rub for Grilling (Plus Bonus Directions for Cooking a Tri-Tip Roast)

 We LOVE grilling!  I got this idea because I picked up something called Magic Unicorn Salt not long ago.  While it’s as amazing as it sounds, you KNOW we love pretty much anything DIY.

Sooo, here’s a quick and easy idea for you all today–a smokey brown sugar dry rub you can make yourself!  It’s really easy to put together (not to mention INEXPENSIVE), and you just sprinkle it on the protein of your choice about an hour before you grill it.  It would be awesome on salmon, chicken, or tofu, but it would even work with vegetables!

Read on to get the simple recipe (if you can call something this easy a “recipe”).  Plus, as an added bonus, I’m including cooking directions for grilling up the perfect, medium rare tri-tip roast with it.

-Viv